I use painted rocks to prevent my chickens from eating my fruits and veggies. The chickens peck at the rocks and get bored when they realize the rocks aren’t food. Then when my strawberries or other fruits ripen, the chickens leave them alone, thinking they’re just rocks.

Painting the rocks can be a fun family project for a rainy day. I like to use a lot of colors, because the ripening fruits and veggies produce multiple colors. I place the rocks in the garden about a week before anything is due to come up.

I learned this from my grandmother, who protected her strawberry patch with red painted rocks.

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